


Paper Cranes and Blistered Fingers

by NegovanlisBound



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Blood and Violence, F/F, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 06:28:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16012187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NegovanlisBound/pseuds/NegovanlisBound
Summary: Laura Hollis, on the drive to her 3rd year at Silas University accidentally crashes into Carmilla Karnstein. Laura, being the giant ball of stress she is, rushes the woman to the hospital. Carmilla insists she is okay, but Laura thinks otherwise, as does the nurse helping them in the ER. They eventually make their way to their initial destinations, but it will not be the last time they see each other…





	Paper Cranes and Blistered Fingers

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank my awesome beta's queer-medic ka-tetris, and my artist kuroishisatoshi on tumblr!

“I know dad, I’ll be careful don’t worry,” Laura reassured her father. She felt empty that her dad couldn’t move her in again like he always did. He had an extremely important business trip to go to on the same weekend that she moved back into the dorms at Silas. He begged his boss to let him skip so he could drive her, but he threatened to fire him if he didn’t go. His flight left in about 5 hours. 

 

“I know you will be, just don’t forget the safety routine okay? You know how I feel about you driving by yourself…” Mr. Hollis said with a frown. 

 

“Yeah, I won’t forget, Dad,” she said. She tried to smile for her dad. 

 

Laura’s dad smiled as he looked down at her. “I’m so proud of you, you know. It’s your third year of college! You finally get to start classes for your major, are you excited kiddo?”

 

“More than you know, I can’t wait to finally get my name out there.” 

 

She braced herself as her father pulled her in for a massive bear hug, squeezing the air out of her body. She held tight as this was probably the last time she would see him until the holiday season came around. 

 

Mr. Hollis sighed as he let go. He took a moment to look at his daughter before an idea popped in his head. “Ooh! We can’t forget your annual picture!” He said as he ran to open a drawer by the kitchen. He pulled out an old polaroid camera that had to be older than Laura. 

 

“You know, I thought these pictures only counted when I was still in high school…” Laura said, trying to get a foot out the door. 

 

“Nonsense, now come on, the lighting is better outside,” Laura’s dad pulled her outside onto the patio and put her into position. 

 

_ Laura grabbed her backpack and slid her shoes on before closing the door to her room.   _

 

_ “Hey Laur! You can’t be late on the first day!”  _

 

_ “Be there in a second!” Laura said excitedly. It was the first day of her sophomore year of high school. She was looking forward to another year with her friends, and another chance at getting head editor for the school newspaper. She ran down the stairs into the kitchen.  _

 

_ “Oh look at you! Growing up so fast. How does it feel to only have one more year as an underclassmen, eh?” _

 

_ Laura laughed, “Yeah, as long as I get to take a good parking spot once I get my licence I’m happy.”  _

 

_ She walked into the kitchen to fill up her water bottle. After it was at the desirable level, she put it in the pocket on the side of her backpack.  _

 

_ “It’s picture time!”  _

 

_ After hearing the magic words, she went outside to the usual spot. “Same as last year?” she asked. _

 

_ “Yep, now just hold still…”  _

 

***Click***

 

The polaroid slowly spit the image out of the front. Her dad grabbed it carefully and started shaking it. 

 

“Do you want it this time?” her dad asked. 

 

“No, that’s alright. I should get going anyway.” 

 

There was a knowing silence between them. She could see her father fighting a battle in his mind, trying to stay positive. 

 

“You’re sure you don’t want me to drive you?” Her dad asked. 

 

“Yeah, I need the car for work, if I end up getting hired.” Laura said. “Sorry…”

 

Her dad sighed again. “Alright, and you’ve got all your bags?”

 

Laura giggled, “Yes dad, I have everything. All I need to do is get in the car and go.”

 

Her dad tried to say something, but stopped himself. He pulled her in for one last hug before the long season. “I love you Laur-bear.” 

 

“I love you too dad.” Laura said. She pulled back and kissed him on the cheek. He was teary-eyed. 

 

After a few more minutes of comforting her dad, she finally stepped out the door and walked to the car. She reluctantly put her seatbelt on. Her dad stood in the doorway, small smile on his face. He was doing some sort of motion with his hands that she couldn’t quite make out. She rolled the window down in question. 

 

“The belt, did you click it?” He asked. 

 

Laura laughed again. “Yes dad, I got it.” 

 

He didn’t look convinced. She unbuckled her seat again, and re-buckled it to show her dad. He smiled and nodded. He waved goodbye as Laura turned the car on and pulled out of the driveway. She saw him in the rear-view mirror until she turned onto the next street. 

Laura put on some relaxing music and settled into the long haul. She used to like driving, but that changed very quickly after she got her licence. Her dad had been trying to get her to drive again, but she always preferred to bike or use some other form of transportation. 

 

The drive to the school is long, and extremely exhausting. She hit traffic in almost every passing city. It had been three hours, going on four, and she still had another thirty minutes ahead of her. 

 

As she got off the exit to get to the school, her phone buzzed in the cup holder next to her. She looked down, her hands still set at 10 and 2, tempted to see who texted her. She looked up from where she was. 

 

_ I have time…. _ Laura thought to herself. 

 

She took her right hand off the steering wheel, shaking. She attempted to take her phone out of the cup holder, but dropped it onto the floor of the passenger side. 

 

_ It’s just so close… _ She thought. She stretched her body over the center console and tried to reach for her phone, when she heard a loud honk in front of her. 

 

She shot up from her position. She was about to cross an intersection, and hit someone on a motorcycle directly in front of her. 

 

“...not again.” 

 

_ Laura stepped back into the driver’s seat excitedly.  _

 

_ “Great job kiddo! You only missed 1! That’s even better than what I got on my test. You’re probably going to be a better driver than me and your dad.” _

 

_ Laura drove all the way back home. Granted it was only a fifteen minute drive, she was still extremely happy to finally be able to drive herself. She showed her dad the official papers when he got home later than night, as well as all of her friends at school the next day. She was broke by the end of the week because she went out to get fast food every day.  _

 

_ As the days of her sophomore year quickly went by, and summer finally arrived, she went on many trips with her parents.  _

 

_ Towards the end of the summer, in August, her father said that he was going on a business trip just as the first day of her junior year started.  _

 

_ “What? You won’t be here for my first day?” Laura asked with a frown.  _

 

_ “Yes, unfortunately the guys down south need my help with a factory issue. Sorry kiddo.”  _

 

_ Laura looked down at her feet, “It’s alright, they need you more than I do.”  _

 

_ Her dad left home a little less than a week before school started again. He missed her annual picture.  _

 

_ That night, her mom took her out for dinner. They went to an outside restaurant just outside of town, that served greasy corn dogs and fries.  _

 

_ “Hey Laur, do you want to drive home? We can take the scenic route,” Her mom said with a smirk. _

 

_ “You mean the route that drives by the dog shelter that has little pods for the animals?” Laura asked.  _

 

“That’s the one.” 

 

_ Laura sat in the driver’s seat, hands at 10 and 2. She took a right turn on 2nd and Orange. The night was particularly nice, as the air was cool and stars bright. They drove down the road, her mom rolled down the window and turned up the music. Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” was playing. Her mom sang every word.  _

 

**_Fly me to the moon_ **

**_Let me play among the stars_ **

**_Let me see what spring is like_ **

**_On Jupiter and Mars_ **

 

_ They passed the shelter, and her mother pointed at the different dogs and cats with enthusiasm. Laura had never felt more content with her life. She too turned her head and looked at all the cute animals. She giggled as the dogs ran after their car speeding by.  _

 

_ Laura’s mom had turned her head back to the road. She lost her smile.  _

 

_ Laura’s eyebrows knitted with confusion.  _

 

**_In other words,_ **

**_Take my hand_ **

 

_ “Laura....”  _

 

_ There was a loud honk from something in front of the car. _

 

***Crash***

 

Laura pulled a sharp turn to the other side of the intersection where she hit the other person. She jumped out of her car and ran over to them. 

 

The bike was definitely damaged, but could probably be repaired. It was about five meters away from the driver.  _ The driver… _ Laura thought. 

 

She ran to the person’s side, who was still laying on the ground. “Are you okay?” she asked.

 

The only response was a loud grunt. 

 

“Oh my god, oh not again… please just say something…” Laura pleaded. 

 

The driver sat up, with the help of Laura, of course. She put a hand on the mask of her helmet before slowly pulling it off. Laura grabbed the helmet from the woman, it was scratched on the side. She looked back at the woman, parts of her jeans were ripped, and she was cradling one arm. 

 

“Agh….What the hell…?” The woman grunted. Laura went blank for a moment before exploding. 

 

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention at all, I tried to grab my phone from the seat next to me, I should’ve seen the very obvious red light. Please just be okay. Do you need an ambulance? Can you see straight? Oh my god you need an ambulance, your arm doesn’t look good. I can take you to the campus hospital, it’s really close and the nurses there give candy. I can-” 

 

“Woah there cutie, don’t hurt yourself. I’ll be fine. Did you hurt my bike?” The woman said.

 

“You need to go to the hospital, I’ll pay for everything and your bike, just let me help you,” Laura said with a worried look. 

 

“No, I’ll be fine, you did enough. Just tell me how bad the damage is.” She tried to get up, and failed. She threw one hand back to catch herself. She groaned again and put a hand to her head. 

 

Laura pointed to the remnants of her bike a few feet away. 

 

The raven haired woman looked angry, “I just fixed her up too…” She tried to turn over to go assess the damage, and groaned in pain again. 

 

“You are obviously not okay and need help. I know I screwed up, and that makes me responsible. I am not leaving you here stranded,” Laura said. She stood up and put her hand out. 

 

“If I go with you will you stop pestering me?” The woman asked. She used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and looked up at Laura. 

 

“Possibly.” Laura said, hand still extended. 

 

“Then I guess you leave me no choice,” she said. 

 

Laura tried to give a smile as she pulled the woman up. She was around the same height as her, making the job easier. She put Carmilla’s good arm around her shoulder and made her way to her car. 

 

“You know, sitting in a car with the person who hit me probably isn’t the best idea. Especially considering you’re a total stranger,” Carmilla said as she fell into the passenger side. 

 

“Probably not, but you don’t need to worry. Now, off we go.” 

 

The rest of the ride was silent. Laura was intent on getting there as fast as possible, so the raven haired girl sitting next to her wouldn’t have to suffer as long. She looked to her right to her. She was hunched over, right arm tucked close to her body. Her eyes were closed. 

 

“You doin’ alright over there?” Laura asked. She was genuinely concerned, as she could see her arm had some blood on it. 

 

“Just fine,” Carmilla said. She kept her eyes closed. 

 

Laura pulled over again and opened the glove compartment in front of the girl. 

 

“What are you doing?” Carmilla asked. 

 

“Your arm is bleeding,” Laura said as she grabbed some tissues out of the compartment. She reached over to try and put them on her arm. 

 

Carmilla looked down at her arm. Her eyes grew big as she realized how much blood was there. “Holy shit when did that happen.” She grabbed the box from laura and frantically started placing tissues over the blood.

 

“Do you need more? I’ve got a brand new box in the back if-”

 

“I think I’m fine, oh my god this is a lot of blood.”  The woman said. 

 

“Not too fond of blood, eh?” Laura asked. 

 

“Not particularly.” The woman said. 

 

“I’m Laura by the way.” 

 

“Nice to meet you, person who just hit me,” the woman said sarcastically. 

 

“Can I at least get your name?” 

 

“You can drive me to get my damn arm fixed up is what you can do.” 

 

Laura looked forward again. She pulled back onto the road and made her way to the Hospital as quickly as possible. It was extremely awkward. 

 

Laura pulled into the Silas hospital and parked near the Emergency Room entrance. She shut off her car and ran around to the other side to help the woman. She put the girl’s arm around her shoulder again and made her way to the doors. 

 

Immediately they were met with a surplus of people running around the building. It seemed very frantic. Laura walked up to the desk. 

 

“Hi, uh my friend here was in an accident on a motorcycle and has some road rash. She says she is okay but I want to get her checked out to see if there are any more injuries,” Laura said. She looked very out of place. 

 

The woman sitting at the desk looked at her, “Okay, let me see if we have a room open for her. One moment.” The woman clicked on the computer a few times. After a moment of silence, the woman’s eyes popped up from the screen. “The next room we can get her into should be open in about ten to fifteen minutes. Is this okay?” The woman asked.

 

“Yes, that’s great. Thank you,” Laura said. 

 

“Can I get a name?” The lady asked. 

 

“Uhh...” Laura said.

 

“Carmilla.” Laura perked up in surprise. 

 

“And a last?” The woman looked up at her expectantly. Laura froze in place and looked over at Carmilla. 

 

“Karnstein,” she said. 

 

“Okay Miss Karnstein, we will notify you as soon as possible,” the nurse said. She filled out a few things on the computer before turning away. 

 

“Thank you.” Laura said again.  

 

They made their way over to the waiting room and searched for a place to sit down. Laura helped Carmilla sit down in one of the lounge chairs as they waited. She remembered that she was supposed to meet Laf and Perry soon, and shot them a text. 

 

**Laura (3:14 PM):** Hey Laf, I got into an accident on 14th and I’m at SER to help this person. I won’t be home for a while…

 

**Laf (3:16 PM):** Whoa! Are you okay?!?

**Laura (3:17 PM):** Yeah, I’m fine. I got lucky. The person I hit, however…

 

**Laf (3:19 Pm):** OH MY GOD FROSH DID YOU KILL SOMEONE?!?

 

**Laura (3:20 PM):** No, I did not kill someone! I just ran a red light and hit someone on a bike… I swear she’s okay.

 

**Laf (3:22 PM):** ….is she cute? 

 

**Laura (3:23 PM):** LAF. I JUST HIT SOMEONE. AND SHE HURT HER ARM. WHY IS THAT THE FIRST THING YOU THINK?!?

 

**Laf (3:24):** Because….I’m just curious. It’s for science, of course. 

 

**Laura (3:25):**  Yeah, I’m sure…okay yes she’s gorgeous…

 

**Laf (3:26):** I KNEW IT. 

 

**Laura (3:27):** Oh shush

 

Laura put her phone in her pocket, deciding that was all she needed to say to Laf. The girl next to her had remained remained silent the whole time. It was making her antsy. 

 

“So what were you doing around here?” Laura asked. 

 

Carmilla looked at her from where she was sitting. “I was just out for a ride...”

 

Laura pursed her lips and nodded her head slowly. They silently waited for someone to call them. 

 

“Carmilla Karnstein?” A nurse asked as he opened the door.

 

Laura shot out of her chair and helped Carmilla get up. They followed the man into a room towards the back of the hallway. She sat her down on the table. 

 

“Well, hello, my name is Jason, I’ll be helping you guys out.” he said. 

 

Laura shook the man’s hand and sat in the corner. 

 

“So, Carmilla, what happened here?” The nurse asked, clipboard in hand. 

 

“Well, I was driving my motorcycle down to my workplace, and I was hit by  _ someone _ over here,” Carmilla said. Jason wrote some things down on the clipboard. 

 

“She’s the one that hit you?” The man asked, surprised. He looked over to Laura expectantly.

 

She cringed internally, but nodded her head.  

 

“Okay, well I’m just going to do a few inspections.” he walked over to her and looked at her arm. “Is this the only place that hurts?” he asked. 

 

“Sort of. I don’t even think it’s that bad, honestly,” Carmilla said. 

 

Laura tried to keep a straight face, but failed as she remembered the other girl freaking out over seeing her own blood.

 

“You did say you were hit by a car whilst on your motorcycle, correct?” he asked. 

 

“Correct.” 

 

“About how fast were you going..?” 

 

“Well I think I was going about thirty-five to forty miles per hour,” Laura said.

 

“And I couldn’t have been going faster than twenty-five,” Carmilla spoke up. 

 

“Which part of her bike did you hit?” The nurse questioned. 

 

“She hit my back tire, the bike spun out from under me,” Carmilla said. 

“That’s very lucky. Had you been hit head on, it might have been fatal. ” the man said after some consideration. He walked over to the sink and washed his hands. “I’m just going to inspect the areas affected, and check if there is any serious damage done.” 

 

Carmilla sighed in annoyance. “If you really think I need to, then let’s get this over with.”   


The nurse put on a pair of surgical gloves. He grabbed a bottle that looked like some cleaning solution. He had to take off Carmilla’s leather jacket to see the damage of the road rash, and she wasn’t too happy. He carefully grabbed her arm and looked closely. She winced as he felt around her forearm. 

 

“It looks like it is just road rash, but I’m just checking to see if anything’s broken, okay?” he said. 

 

Carmilla just nodded her head. The man continued to check her arm for any issues. 

 

“Okay, I’m going to clean the wounds now. This may sting, so I am just preparing you.” 

 

Jason opened the bottle and poured some of the solution onto his hands, and rubbed them together. He peeled the soaked tissues off her arm and began slowly cleaning the cuts on her arm. 

 

Carmilla sucked in a breath of air when his hands touched her skin. She exhaled slowly and tried to regulate her breathing. She was clenching and unclenching her fists.

 

“It’s alright, just relax. It should only take a little longer.” The nurse continued to clean gashes on both of her arms, and some on her legs. Once he was finished, he went to the cabinet next to him and grabbed some paper towels to clean up the rest. He came back and dried the areas, then put medical bandages on the sections she scraped. 

 

“Okay Carmilla, you’re all clean, but I still need to check out your head…” he said. 

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes.

 

He used the small flashlight to see if her eyes were dilated. “Look up,” he said. 

 

Once he was satisfied, he came to conclusion. “Okay, by the looks of the situation, I can say that you definitely have a minor concussion. You already know you have road rash on your arms, but I suspect that there may be a small fracture in your right arm. There is a bit of swelling, but not enough to tell. We will have to get an X-Ray to see if anything comes up. As of right now, I will need you to wait here for a few minutes.” 

 

With that, he wrote a few things down on his clipboard before leaving the room. 

 

They sat in another awkward silence as they waited. 

 

“Nice to meet you Carmilla,” Laura said with another apologetic smile. 

 

“Mmhmm.” 

 

As they waited for the nurse to come back, Laura tried to suppress the thoughts that were trying to corrupt her mind.  _ I am never driving again...That’s what you said last time. Now look what you did, it’s mom all over again...No, this is different, she’s okay this time…. Oh god what am I going to tell dad…  _

 

“Alright Miss Karnstein, right this way to the X-Ray room.” 

 

They made their way to the opposite side of the hospital. The nurse made Laura sit in another waiting room with a bunch of other people. She sat in a chair and looked around. 

 

\-----

 

After what felt like an eternity, the nurse came back into the room.

 

“Miss, your friend is done. We will assess the results in another room, would you like to come?”   
He asked. 

 

Laura nodded and followed him and Carmilla back into the other room. They sat down again. She looked at the other girl. 

 

“So it looks like you have a hairline fracture in your right forearm. It will take about 8 weeks for it to heal if we put it in a cast,” the man said. 

 

Carmilla looked at him angrily, “It’s fractured? Do I have to use that cast?”   
  


“Yes, and you would need to refrain from using it for at least 4 weeks.” 

 

“I can’t use it at all?”

 

“Up until the 4 week mark, it is suggested that you try not to use it at all. The fracture will get worse the longer you use it without letting it heal.”

 

“But I can’t ‘not use it at all’, I need this damn arm.” Carmilla stood up, holding up her right arm. 

 

Laura shot up to sit her back down. “Carmilla you can’t choose if you want the cast, you need it to help it heal. Don’t make it worse.”

 

“You don’t make decisions for me. I can’t do what I do with a cast, therefore I will deal with the pain.”

 

“Miss, I’m afraid that will only make it worse.” Jason said. 

 

Carmilla tried to say something but no words came out of her mouth. She stuttered a few times before letting out an aggravated grunt, “Ugh, fine. Just do it.”

 

Laura felt guilty as she watched the nurse put a black cast on the girl in front of her. She had a strong frown on her face. She knew she was mad, but Laura sensed that anger wasn’t the only emotion she was feeling. 

 

She sat up and lifted her arm to test the weight. 

 

“Okay, looks like we are all finished here. You two can go to the front desk to settle everything else from here,” he said. 

 

“Thank you so much for helping,” Laura said. 

 

“Would you like a lollipop?” 

 

\----

 

They walked down the hallway that seemed to go on forever side by side. Carmilla kept her eyes focused on the ground. When they reached the front desk again, Carmilla spoke up. 

 

“Put everything under this number and name,” She said, handing her a few cards with her information on it. 

 

Laura looked over at her like she was crazy. She took the lollipop out of her mouth, “What are you doing? I’m the one responsible here. You don’t need to do that.” 

 

“You helped me. That’s more than anyone else did. You can go home now, Laura,” she said. Her voice sounded soft, vulnerable. 

 

“No, I will not let you do that. I’m also driving you home too,” Laura said. She was shocked hearing her actual name from the girl.

 

“It’s already been done, but I will take that ride,” she said. She had yet to look up at the other girl. 

 

Laura sat there and gaped at the older girl. “I’m still paying for that bike.” 

 

“I’m sure you will.” 

 

\----

 

Laura turned the engine on again and asked Carmilla directions to her place. 

 

“Just turn into the dorm complex. I’m in the A building,” she said. 

 

Laura turned to look at her, “I’m in that building.” 

 

“Well I’m glad you know that Lauronica Mars. Now how about you drive us there, no?” 

 

“Wait you’re a student?!?” Laura asked surprised. 

 

“Wow you’re full of observations, aren’t you.” the raven haired girl said with a blank face.

 

Laura drove the short trek and parked in her usual parking spot. She got out of her car and went to the other side where Carmilla was getting out. 

 

“Are you gonna be alright?” she asked. 

 

“I’ll be fine,” Carmilla said dryly. 

 

The taller girl walked backwards for a few steps before turning on her foot and heading for the door to the complex. “See you around.” 

 

Laura gaped as the girl walked away. 

 

_ What an interesting way to start the semester... _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic was supposed to be for the Big Bang, but I only have 1 chapter completely finished, and I'm still working on the rest. At this rate, it's looking to be a long one. If you guys are willing to tag along with me on this wild ride, then thank you :).


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